A measure that will be heard this summer in committee at the statehouse aims to tighten the reins on private communications between utilities and the commissioners who regulate them at the California Public Utilities Commission.

But even if SB 660 is passed, does it make executives at the commission, which has been pilloried for its tight relationships with select utilities, understand why such legislation is necessary?… Read more

Undercover videos that sent Planned Parenthood into crisis mode have drawn the concern of California Attorney General Kamala Harris, whose interest in reviewing their legality helped put the Golden State at the center of a dramatic national controversy.

Harris, embarked on a campaign to replace outgoing Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., promised lawmakers to “carefully review” the organization behind the tapes for “any violations of California law,” according to the Sacramento Bee.… Read more

Daniel Parks / flickrMore than a month after Gov. Jerry Brown called for lawmakers to hold a “special session” on transportation funding, California still doesn’t have a plan for how to close its annual $5.7 billion shortfall for road, bridge and highway repairs.

More than a month after Gov. Jerry Brown called for lawmakers to hold a “special session” on transportation funding, California still doesn’t have a plan for how to close its annual $5.7 billion shortfall for road, bridge and highway repairs.… Read more

A subcommittee inside the California Department of Justice is accused of meeting in violation of the state’s open meetings act by failing to publicly disclose what actions it will be discussing in its required public meetings notice.

A cadre of First Amendment groups alleges that the subcommittee of the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) also approves action that is then rubber stamped by the CLETS advisory committee (CAC) just hours later, again failing to properly announce what will be part of a discussion determined by law to be subject to advance disclosure.… Read more

In a conversation with CalWatchdog.com Editor Brian Calle, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer discusses the importance of preserving the environment and why it should not be a partisan issue. During the interview, Mayor Faulconer highlights the environment as our quality of life and emphasizes the need to preserve the state’s clean air and water for future generations. He also discusses the steps he has taken as mayor to ensure San Diego is doing its part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as increase the availability of electric charging stations and solar hookups.… Read more

In a conversation with CalWatchdog.com Editor Brian Calle, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer tells us why Republicans aren’t an endangered species in California. Mayor Faulconer, arguably one of the highest ranking elected officials in California, outlines his take on the future of the Republican Party, emphasizing the need to be inclusive and the importance of finding policy solutions for issues that matter most to voters.… Read more

In a conversation with CalWatchdog.com Editor Brian Calle, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer discusses law enforcement issues ranging from human trafficking to marijuana legalization. In the interview, Mayor Faulconer outlines his support for the use body cameras by police officers, emphasizing that his city is the largest adopter of the technology of any big city in the country and how it has been well-received by both officers and members of the community.… Read more

Archive

Back in 2004 California voters passed Prop. 71: $3 billion in bonds for research on embryonic stem cells. The full cost, including interest on the bonds, will be $6 billion. Many people opposed it because of the abortion argument.

But another argument in opposition was that this was “industrial policy” — the government picking winners and losers in business. That’s the main reason Japan has been stuck in a “lost decade,” as the Tokyo government, to deal with a recession, started intervening in industry — inevitably picking the wrong businesses to invest in.… Read more

It starts off pretty easily, with the stat that the state pays rouhgly $24 billion in payroll each year and the view that the LAO itself “believe[s] that employee compensation reductions are necessary due to the magnitude of the budget problem.” But then it’s all doom, all the time from then on…

* On the governor’s proposal to increase employee pension contribution rates by 5 percent of pay: “Pension Contribution Shift Is Very Risky.… Read more

Orange County Republican Party Chairman Scott Baugh told me today that his speech, delivered at the county central committee the night before the Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts, calling on the his county party to withhold its endorsement from candidates who accept union funds has met with a mixed reaction. The grassroots has appreciated his stance, the unions have been angry and politicians have been mixed.… Read more

The Schwarzenegger administration has threatened legal action against the California Correctional Peace Officers’ Association — the prison guards’ union — if its officials continue to refuse to pay the millions of dollars the union owes the state to reimburse taxpayers for the time its leaders spend on union business.

According to the administration, CCPOA is supposed to pay the state for the salaries and benefits for its top leaders, who spend their careers doing union business yet remain on the state payroll and receive government pensions.… Read more

There’s an old rule in journalism that says always credit your sources. I think they still teach it in Journalism School. Anyway, someone ought to school Sacramento Bee blogger Torey Van Oot in this practice.

I’m referring to this Capitol Alert blog entry, posted at 10:41 on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 26: “Steinberg looks to rename LOB after Dem strategist Bill Cavala.” It’s a short post that does little more than quote from Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg’s Jan.… Read more

Sometimes I really feel sorry for reporters who cover the Capitol. Their job is to follow around our esteemed elected officials, hauling their notebooks, laptops, cameras and recording equipment to all manner of photo ops and press conferences. And there they sit (or stand), dutifully recording the officials’ words in hopes that they can later pass some important truth onto their audience.… Read more